Protect Her At All Costs
by HumbleIdeasMan
Summary: What if Minato doesn't ask Hiruzen to have the villagers see Naruto as a hero, but instead tells him to entrust Naruto to Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha as a sign of trust that the Uchiha's were in no way involved in the Kyuubi's attack. Naruto/Fem!Sasuke, Naruto/Fem!Gaara friendship, Fem!Sasuke/Fem!Gaara rivalry, Naruto's wish to protect his precious people will develop much quicker
1. A plea for Family

Protect her at all costs

This is my first story I'm actually publishing, I like the idea, but I'm not too sure of my execution, please review and provide feedback on the style. I'm really scared I do to much telling and not enough showing

Currently I'm looking at the first four or so chapters being pre-graduation, which will really be used to flesh out any changes I'm making to Naruto's life. There might be light bashing but I'd like to think that it won't come off in the same way most bashing does, mainly just pointing out flaws and doing some character development from them

What if Minato doesn't ask Hiruzen to have the villagers see Naruto as a hero, but instead tells him to entrust Naruto to Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha as a sign of trust that the Uchiha's were in no way involved in the Kyuubi's attack.

Naruto/Fem!Sasuke, Naruto/Fem!Gaara friendship, Fem!Sasuke/Fem!Gaara rivalry

Chapter 1: A plea for family

Sarutobi "The Professor" Hiruzen, the retired third hokage, stood powerless at the edge of a barrier his successor, Namikaze Minato, had erected staring desperately into the distance at the shrinking form of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine-tailed Fox Demon, that had been attacking the shinobi village of Konoha. He of course recognised the jutsu that was being used, thanks to his intimacy with nearly every jutsu in the elemental nations, and feared greatly for the lives of the family he knew to be within the barrier. The Shiki Fujin was a sealing technique wherein the user sacrifices his own soul, and thereby their life, to trap the target's soul inside the stomach of a shinigami, to say it is a technique that should only be used as a seal master's last resort is an understatement of the highest order, and the fact that it had been used could only mean that the situation surrounding the already problematic birthing was infinitely worse than it already appeared. Just as more shinobi were beginning to catch up to him at the edge of the barrier a small toad popped into existence beside the battle ready hokage holding onto a scroll, which it insisted must be delivered to him.

_Hiruzen-Sempai,_

_I'm sure you've seen what is happening inside the barrier, the Kyuubi that had been released is being resealed. I am taking half of the Kyuubi's chakra and sealing it inside the shinigami along with myself, the other half I am putting inside my son. Kushina is too weak to survive much longer let alone contain the fox. I could not ask any other make the same sacrifice that I make here today, alongside not really having any options to choose from I am forced to give my child this fate. His name is Naruto Uzumaki._

_I have some knowledge that must be shared and a request. The birthing process was interrupted by a masked man, who has promised to return for the Kyuubi in the future, I have my own suspicions as to who it was but I have no evidence to support them. The seal I used is one of my own design which should begin to drain the Kyuubi's chakra into Naruto's as he grows, a precaution I fear he will need for the future. As for my request; please do not let Naruto grow up on his own. Order Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha to take him in and look after him. It is a show of my faith that the Uchiha are the best suited to look after my son. The Uchiha's curse is one fanned by mistrust, a lack of faith and a lack of communication between friends. Please do not let the village or the clans succumb to this curse. _

_Yondaime Hokage_

_Minato Namikaze_

Smalls dark stains began to litter the scroll as Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes filled with tears not only at the selfless sacrifice his successor was making but also at the treatment he knew the boy would be subject to, from all sides and the dangers that would await him at every turn in his life and the truth of mans words about the Uchiha clan, as he vowed to fulfill the man's last will and testament.

The barrier blocking their path remained only momentarily after Hiruzen had finished reading, almost as if it was waiting for him to ready himself, before the last vestiges of Minato's chakra left the earth forever. As quickly as he could Hiruzen forced himself to the centre of the barrier's encompassed land, where he found a small unmistakable bundle of swaddling that cried out for attention, clearly aware of the sacrifices that had been made bare metres from it. Grabbing the baby up into a tender cradle Hiruzen peeled back a layer to reveal the face of his successor child. His most obvious features were his golden blonde hair, which matched his father's almost perfectly, and the strange markings that adorned his face imitating whiskers. Again the Sandaime Hokage's eyes filled with tears at the thought of the hard life he boy was unjustly sentenced to that should truly be a cause for celebration. Softly he whispered to the boy;

"Happy Birthday Naruto Uzumaki. I am so terribly sorry for your loss."

He turned around and presented the boy to the amassing crowd, explaining that the Yondaime had saved the village from the Kyuubi's rampage by sealing it inside the boy he now held. He then proclaimed that any who revealed the nature of the boy to the younger generations or the boy himself would face harsh consequences.

Within the two days that followed Hiruzen was sworn back into office as an intermediary Hokage while the council tried to decide who could possibly replace Konoha's Yellow Flash as the next Hokage. While the tired old man who had lived through the last two great shinobi wars helped diligently as best he could from his regained position to address the problems caused by the Kyuubi's rampage including managing the death toll, assessing destruction and applying resources as best he could he managed to surreptitiously slip past the council one decree that turned his threat into law, making it an officially punishable crime to discuss the events with any who weren't there. On the third day the Hokage was finally able to see the Uchiha clan head and his wife in order to make the necessary arrangements.

The hokage's office was not a bright room, due mainly to being filled with paperwork, both completed and not, the lack of much artificial lighting and the security shadows set up by the ANBU shinobi who guarded the hokage at all times. For the past three days most of the guard had been deployed elsewhere in order to help the rebuilding process to the point that only two remained, neither of which were fully able to act fulfill their duties properly due to the circumstances. One was acting as the hokage's secretary essentially , sorting through paperwork, announcing visitors and generally being helpful, while the other, a certain dog masked man with silver hair that stood up at an angle that to most people would seem ridiculous, nursed and played with the baby that now housed the Nine-tailed fox, while he had been one of the many younger shinobi kept from the fray he had quickly deduced the identity of the boy and had taken on the boy's care single-handedly, eyes dulled with a remorse of one who had now failed to protect those he held dear completely. This was the situation the head of the Uchiha clan and his wife found when they entered the room.

Fugaku Uchiha was a tall pale skinned man whose face bore the grim determination of someone entrusted with a duty of high importance alongside the arrogant coolness that seemed to pervade most Uchiha clan members. While his wife and the mother of his children Mikoto held the similar traits present in all Uchiha, the pale skin and the midnight black hair that reached just below her shoulder blades, but instead spread an aura of joy and motherly kindness to many who saw her. Her arms supported the bottom of a sling containing her three month old daughter Sasuke. Hiruzen quickly offered them a seat before he began to tell them why they were needed here;

" Fugaku-sama, Mikoto-sama I trust all is as well as can be expected within your clans, I hope that there weren't many casualties to your clan?" Before either Uchiha could answer he can continued, "Obviously you are aware of the Yondaime's death, and that the story circulating that he killed the Kyuubi is nonsense, a being made of pure chakra cannot be killed… merely contained. I have the container here in fact in this very room, Kakashi has become very protective of the child." This elicited a gasp from Mikoto instantly understanding the insinuation, "Yes that bundle of cloth in his arms is the current jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Now I know why you are wondering I am telling you pair this and not simply announcing it to the clan heads together, it is very simple, at this point in time I am acting as the executor of Minato's will. It is his request that you take the boy in and raise the child."

At this Fugaku slammed his fist onto the desk before growling in a low voice;

"We will not have that disgusting creature in our house. We will not sully the Uchiha name by raising him as one of our own. We will not I say."

"Fugaku-san, please… the boy cannot be left to the village not right now, not with how the village will treat him, he will be cast out…" Was all Hiruzen could say before Fugaku interrupted;

"That's the least he deserves. Foul Demon."

"Now you listen here Uchiha, that newborn is no demon and you know it, he is the jailer to the worst possible prisoner and if you had even a shred of the dignity and humanity that Minato believed you had you would show that boy some compassion, and you would take him in. Do you want to know what could happen if that boy becomes upset enough, angry enough or even slightly tempted by the subtle offerings the demon inside him must be singing in his ear? I'll tell you. Death will reign upon this village like never before seen, not since the wild times before the coming of the great sage will catastrophe have struck this place so hard. Do not take me for some foolish old man you can make demands of. I am the hokage and if you will not respect this village's greatest hero's final wish I shall order you to take the child in or force recompense harder than even my predecessor tried to impose on you." The hokage shouted, his chakra flaring angrily around him, creating a dark shroud that seemed to cause him to seemingly grow in size while also darkening the room further, the glow of his chakra illuminating him in such a way that his visage seemed more demonic than even the tailed beasts could manage. The moment was broken by the harsh wails that both children erupted into seemingly breaking the hokage from his reverie and calming him substantially. "Look, I'm not asking you give the boy your name, nor am I asking you to teach him your arts, I merely ask that you give him a home, a place where he will not be constantly subjected to the village's prejudices, this is a request from me and a show of faith in you from Minato, he would trust you two over all others to care for his son, Naruto Uzumaki."

Mikoto's eyes darted up from Sasuke, who was beginning to calm from her outburst, "You mean he is hers?"

"Yes."

"We'll take him."

"But Mikoto, how…"

"This is not something I will argue on Fugaku, she was a good friend, her child deserves better than the streets."

"Thank you, I know you will raise him well." Hiruzen sighed happily, all traces of the former anger gone from his voice, "Kakashi…"

At this the ANBU member stood from his place on the wall and joined the people at the desk. The Sandaime quickly wrote up a small certificate indicating he had approved of the boy's adoption. Kakashi was incredibly reluctant to let the child go, which was only made worse by him being unsure of who to give the child to, Mikoto's arms were full already and her husband clearly wished to have no part in the child. Sighing slightly Mikoto removed her daughter from the sling she had been housed in and handed the infant to her husband who while seemingly awkward with the child none the less clearly doted on her affectionately, before wrestling the blonde babe away from Kakashi. Once the boy was settled in he snuggled closer to her obviously sensing the mother's warmth he'd sorely missed since his birth.


	2. An Uzumaki in Uchiha Clothing

Chapter 2: An Uzumaki in Uchiha Clothing

It had been seven years since the death of Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, and the council had given up on ever finding a suitable successor to the man, instead preferring to allow his predecessor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, retake the mantle of Sandaime Hokage to once again lead Konohagakure, The Village Hidden in the Leaves, to continued success. Over the course of the past seven years Hiruzen had aged considerably, brought on by the seemingly unending piles of paperwork he was forced to contend with alongside the grief he still felt from the loss of his wife. Truly he only retained three real joys in his life, despite not admitting to one of them, those being; watching the life of the young jinchuuriki as he grew up in the Uchiha household, helping to guide and mould the shinobi of the village as they grew steadily under each other's tutelage, and taking the occasional peep at the women's bath house using his crystal ball. Unfortunately he rarely got the opportunity to partake in these joys of his, of which the former was an even rarer occurrence than the others.

On one unusually quiet afternoon in terms of the paperwork he had to complete Hiruzen took a moment to contemplate on what he knew of the boy's life. The Uchiha main house had been full of life for these past seven years. The Uchiha-heir,Itachi, had excelled in his shinobi training at a rate beyond that of any shinobi who had come before him, reaching the ranks of ANBU at age ten and was on the verge of being promoted to captain within the elite's ranks. Thanks to his kind and caring nature Itachi was one of very few Uchihas able to look past Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki and openly treated him as a member of the family, much to his father's disgust. While he obviously cared for both of his younger siblings he seemed to spend more time with the young boy often playing with him when they had a spare moment. Not to say he didn't pay any attention to his sister, it was merely that she was more focused on desperately trying to earn the praises of their father by practising her shinobi skills near constantly to try and ravenously dig her way out of Itachi's long shadow and by emulating Fugaku in her treatment of Naruto, by openly looking down on the boy and treating him like some kind of servant. Naruto for his part was growing up to be a cheerful boy, who while not as intellectually gifted as his siblings could take a lesson to heart if given the proper motivations.

Across town in the Uchiha complex Naruto was getting told for the fifth time that week why he was not allowed to try learning ninja techniques;

"If I hear one more complaint out of you about not being taught ninja skills, I will have you out of this home do you understand me brat!" Fugaku roared at the protesting boy,

"But Tou-san, please…"

"You are not a Uchiha and you are not one of my children. You will learn nothing from us, do I make myself clear? You can attend the academy from next year onwards and you can learn the skills from them, but you will learn nothing from anyone within these walls."

"Yes, sir." Was the only reply given as the blonde boy walked away dejectedly. The boy knew better than to continue, it wouldn't have been the first time that Fugaku had intentionally left the boy alone in some far corner of the village to fend for himself, only returning days later covered in bruises and cuts or on particularly bad days had literally dragged himself across the Uchiha boundary due to broken limbs or gaping cuts across his body. Why the entire village hated him so, he couldn't understand, the most he'd ever done was vaguely harmless pranks. As such he couldn't understand why the villagers looked at him such rage and disgust, only referring to him as a demon or worse. The only reason he returned to the Uchiha compound, where at least the beatings rarely rose above a sharp spanking or a harsh dressing down, was that he knew at least his surrogate mother Mikoto and his adoptive siblings would be saddened by him going missing. He knew he was adopted having seen the differences between himself and literally every member of the Uchiha clan when he was five. Pulling himself from the depressing thoughts about the village he decided to look for his siblings, or at least Itachi anyway. Sasuke had started acting coldly towards him recently, in an attempt to impress her father, and often ignored him while spending much of her time on her training, devoting herself wholly to it.

Running to the home nearest the Uchiha compounds gates he asked as politely as he could if the family had seen Itachi pass through, back from another one of his secret mission as a high level ninja, and when they denied seeing him he turned around again knowing that meant there was only one person left to go see about getting something to do, his mother. Since he wasn't being taught how to perform the basic ninja skills Naruto's days were often left empty and alone unless Mikoto decided to teach the boy some other skill or give him chores to practice them with. While he would rather play than be forced into the tasks, not having anyone to play with often made this a preferred alternative to being alone. Whilst it wasn't explicitly stated by anybody it was clear that Naruto was being raised to be a retainer or some sort of guard for Sasuke once they were older, and to those involved in the plotting of the coup in power, and she wouldn't always be in the village.

Naruto eventually found his mother in the kitchen about to begin the preparations for a mighty feast, calling out to her he asked;

"What's with all this food Kaa-san?"

"Oh Naruto-kun, we're going to have a little celebration tonight once Itachi comes home," she replied smiling the young boy, unlike her husband she had always accepted the boy as one of her own and loved him as equally as her other children.

"Why? It's just another mission isn't it, he'll have taken care of it no problem, Nii-san is the best."

"Exactly, and its because of his skill that he is getting even more recognition, he's going to be promoted to captain soon, so I thought we could have a little feast." She explained happy to see Naruto's face go from confusion to wonder at the news about his brother. "Unfortunately though, my stomach's feeling a bit rough at the moment so why don't you take over for, while I go lie down for a little while, eh?"

Naruto's face fell a bit at this, not believing for a second that his mother was ill, knowing that she had really just wanted him to practice cooking some more. It wasn't that it was a common occurrence, it was just that Mikoto liked to every so often shirk her own duties onto the young boy every so often so that she could relax, trusting Naruto entirely to get it right. Sighing, knowing that he wasn't really being given a choice he agreed and began sorting out the food that was laid out on the kitchen into the various dishes that Mikoto had quickly told him she wanted before heading up to her room.

The hours passed quickly while Naruto worked diligently to cook the meals to perfection,during which time Itachi returned home to a joyous reception, Sasuke ended her training early to spend the rest of the day with her brother and Fugaku had come into the kitchen expecting to see his wife as the person behind the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen. Scowling when he found the real culprit he made sure to tell the boy not to ruin the food or he would face dire consequences. Eventually the rest of the family gathered to the dinner table while Naruto began to bring the dishes, Itachi and Sasuke both marveling at the glorious dishes piled in front of them, before the mood was ruined by Fugaku refusing to allow the chef to join them at the table for dinner, stating that "This is a dinner for family," despite Itachi's requests.

The next day members of the Konoha Military Police Force came to discuss something with Itachi, that lead to a long and overly loud argument with Fugaku that was eventually revealed to have been about the suspicious death of fellow Uchiha prodigy Shisui. This argument would lead to a void growing between both father and son neither able to see the other's point of view, which in turn lead to Sasuke getting her wish of being noticed by her father after he seemed to finally remember he had another child which he could mould and Itachi spending more time hanging around Naruto.

Nearly six months after his promotion and after another particularly loud shouting match between the normally reserved Uchiha and the clan head Itachi was relaxing in his younger brother's presence while the young boy practiced calligraphy at his mother's behest when suddenly he asked, "How do you do it Naruto?"

"Hmm? How do I do what Itachi-Nii"

"How can you stand the hatred Tou-san and everyone else throws at you? How can you still be such a happy guy? How can you still look at Tou-san with such love when all he does is insult you and put you down?"

"Oh that's easy." Came the cheerful reply. "You and Kaa-san of course, and anyone else who doesn't treat me bad, sure the words and the beatings hurt, but when I see you guys smiling at me and being so kind the other's words don't seem to hurt so much, like I could take it all just to see your smiles. Tou-san doesn't completely mean what he says, I know that, he wants me to grow up strong and independent knowing that there may be a time I can't stay here anymore, that and he always catches the villagers who hurt me too much"

Itachi looked somewhat incredulous at the speech Naruto had just given, never really considering that Naruto could be so perceptive and caring, "Hn, you're a pretty weird kid for an eight year old."

"Oh because you were so much better, Mr. Youngest ANBU soldier in history." Came the snarky reply, "Now if I could just figure out why Kaa-san wants me doing calligraphy of all things, its not even that relaxing, there's too much pressure not to screw up"

"Let me take a look at it," Itachi said reaching over and taking the pieces of paper from the boy, "Hmm, you're strokes are good you know, very clean, nice precision, you keep this up maybe get a bit quicker with it you could look into learning fuinjutsu, wouldn't that be cool?"

"Fuinjutsu? What's that?"

"The ancient art of seals kid, it can do loads of cool stuff, storage, trapping, summoning, heck I even heard the fourth could use seals to teleport himself places. Its an old set of techniques and mostly unknown now a days of course, but thats what makes it so much more effective, not many people learn how to combat dead art forms, only the real masters of the art can use it in battle though." Itachi taught somewhat enthusiastically, he'd been interested in fuinjutsu when he was younger, only drawn away from it when his father told him that it was not the Uchiha way to use scribbles to defeat opponents.

"Woah, you really think I could do that?" The boy asked enraptured at the thought of being master ninja able to use techniques most people hadn't faced, before being reminded of their father's words, "actually, that probably won't happen, Tou-san seems to think I'm useless, he won't even let me learn anything other than the academy techniques."

"Ahh don't worry about that Naruto he's just worried about what the villagers think, for no reason at all they think the Uchihas had something to do with the Kyuubi's attack, and with them seeing you as 'The Demon Brat' they probably think we're raising another one to destroy the village from the inside, which is ridiculous. You can barely hurt flies." Itachi joked

"Hey, shut up. Just you wait I'm gonna get so much stronger and then you'll see, I'll use my strength to protect Sasuke, my precious people and the village, I'll be that great, Believe it!" came the boastful response.

"Oh you will, will you? You're gonna protect everything? That's a good dream otouto, power should never be sought for personal gain or satisfaction, only for the sake of others. Remember, you could defeat every opponent you come across easily but still be weak, only those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for others, especially their precious people are the truly strong."

"Hai, Nii-san! I will definitely become that kind of person, Believe it." Naruto confirmed.

It wouldn't be until much later in his life that Naruto would find that strange, especially when he considered the events that would unfold only a few months later.


	3. Lies and Half truths

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, positive comments always brighten my days.

Sorry about the delay, I reckon most of my future updates will be spaced like this while I actually write them. You guessed it, Naruto's new defining moment comes at a price all who knew the truth would call far too high.

_rant_

The other guy though, yeah, you, the one who called a forgiving Naruto a piece of shit get the hell out of my story, in fact get out of my fandom. The Naruto I am trying to present is a close approximation of Kishimoto's Naruto, that means an ideal man, someone willing to see past someones actions, willing to look past their own judgments and able to move on, the truly strong, you ignorant piece of pish.

Every Dark Naruto fanfic is a cop out. There I said it, every one of them that has Naruto give up on the village, or succumb to their hate is cheating themselves. By corrupting Naruto like that on such a fundamental level you are destroying the character you claim to love so much.

Before someone mentions the waterfall of truth incident, how Naruto's dark thoughts are the true Naruto, that's not what that was and you know it. The point of it was that not one emotion or feeling defines someone, yes Naruto resents the way the villagers treated him and will he ever forget no, but he will forgive, because he's the better man, he's the guy who can push past his own darkness to face problems with a level head. Anyone who claims otherwise is the real dobe.

_/rant_

Also thanks I guess for inspiring me to get started on this chapter, illiterate japester

Still though please review, any comments on the writing style would be great, find my writing faults, drag me over the coals, help me be the better man

Chapter 3: Lies and Half Truths

Itachi Uchiha was deeply troubled by the orders he had just received, standing encased in the shadows outside the door of the unnaturally gloomy Hokage's office he peered into some far distance trying to justify his next actions beyond simple murder and his orders. He recognised the necessity of the orders, to a degree, he was to wipe of the Uchiha conspiracy, and there was to be no survivors of the clan so that there would be no chances of another uprising. He knew all about the coup plot, the Uchiha feeling; separated from the rest of the village, forcibly segregated on nonsensical points, forced to act as a police force for the village and constantly looked down on for harbouring the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune had come up with a way to end this. To seize power from those whom the deemed incompetent and instate themselves as the sole ruling power so that none might question their power. Itachi was aware of this because he was the son of the coup plot's leader and also the singularly most trusted spy for the movement placed deep inside ANBU. Unfortunately when Itachi's best friend Shisui was killed he had taken up his friend's role as a double agent, secretly reporting the goings on of the Uchiha to ANBU. He had seen his own clan's corruption increase steadily over the course of eight years, seen how they gave up on trying to be a part of the village, how they retreated into themselves growing bitter and paranoid over the smallest of things. It was destroying Itachi that the Hokage had ordered this of him, to kill his own family, already images were flashing in his mind, past kills while away on mission superimposed on his memories of his family and imagined pictures of his parents forms slumped together large gashes on their throat like second mouths will blood flowing freely down them soaking into thei…

"Woah there, Weasel, didn't see you there, too busy strolling through memories past I suppose," came the lazy drawl from the man who had collided with the stationary Itachi, not that he minded of course, if there was one person who could lift his melancholia it was his original ANBU captain. The almost imperceptibly depressed man was one of the first to recognise Itachi for more than just his clan and his talents, he was the first to understand Itachi's hatred of fighting and s such was one of the boy's only confidants about his life.

"It's fine Kakashi, I was merely engrossed in my own thoughts of my family" Itachi snarkily imitated his senior's style of excuses.

"Ara- and how are they recently, truly we haven't spoken so much recently." The gray haired man gave one of his signature eye smiles, eyelid curving downward while the masked portion of his face seemed to ripple and ooze happiness.

"Tou-san and Kaa-san is much the same as ever. Kaa-san wonders that Tou-san is pushing himself and Sasuke too far, while he merely engrosses himself further in his work and his thoughts. Sasuke, well she appears to have developed a rivalry with me? She seems to view me as this blockade on her life, that she can't be happy so long as I am considered better than her. Truthfully I believe she will far surpass me, hopefully in every way, she may envy my status as prodigy but her genius and drive will push her beyond limits I may never even conceive of." Itachi unloaded on his friend and colleague, "and then there's Naruto, he is so amazingly kind, I honestly wish I could be half as forgiving as he is, you know the villagers attack him ruthlessly? Break him in every way their shallow minds can conceive? And yet he crawls home once they are done, curls up in his bedroom and lets his wounds heal before he comes to out with not a scar or joint out of place. He thinks Tou-san and I don't know about it, he has a case for most of the village to be imprisoned for a very long time and yet he doesn't say a word, hides his pain just to protect them. His hope and belief astonish me. Tou-san on the other hand, well, he's not been the best father for the boy, pushing him into the dirt, refusing him little joys, practically refusing him a family. Every morning, though, when he sees Naruto leave his room looking unscathed and grinning like he's just discover the secret to happiness, I can see it in Tou-san, two conflicting emotions, hatred for the prisoner and pride for the jailor both burning so intensely inside him that some days I'm surprised he doesn't burn himself out."

A tear had formed in the corner of Kakashi's visible eye, "So like his parents, it's almost unnerving, haaa." The man grieved letting out a sigh hoping to settle his mind to stop the trickle becoming a stream down his face, silently begging Minato for the villages forgiveness, along with his own. "And yourself?" He inquired, aware of the boys assignment, to spy on his clan and inform the council on the progress made by those who would attempt to overthrow them.

"Distracted, and upset. Things are going downhill on every side, I don't know how things can be made better any more." Itachi revealed, baring his thoughts in the simplest ways he could while maintaining the secrecy needed for his newest orders. They talked like this for a while before Itachi left to commit his greatest crime, to end lives that should have no need to end.

The sun had set long ago when Naruto made it back to the Uchiha compound, he'd planned to spend his day once he'd escape from the hell that was the academy by finishing up his map of the village. He had no need of a road map for the town instead the map displayed the village as a series of sectors split up by hostility towards him with all the shops that would and would not allow him entry and other such information. It needed to be done soon, sure he was no where near graduating, and likely kicked out by Fugaku, but if he wanted to grow strong he needed to know where he wasn't likely to get turned away while he tried to develop himself. When as was usual he was attacked, first by the drunkards who didn't have the decency to hide him from the general public and then the rest after he was dragged into an alley. This beating had been longer than usual but, in what could only be seen as a kindness sent from god by the boy, his tormentors had kept themselves to their fists meaning that he wasn't actually that hurt, at least not compared to some days, hell he could walk home properly today.

He hadn't been paying attention so the first sign that something was wrong wasn't the lack of people on the streets or even the scream that cried out as he walked through the compound gates, no, it was the scent of fresh blood that entered his nose just after that. Running into the nearest house Naruto came to know despair, the oba-san and oji-san that lived here were two of the few people that had been kind to him, so it filled him with dread to find them lying in a pool of their own blood, large wounds cut deep into their bodies, entrails spilling out and entwining with the others as the oji's body was draped over his wife's corpse, his face dampened by two tear trails that had left his eyes only momentarily before he joined his wife in oblivion.

"Oh, good. You're here. I worried I would have to find you." Looking up Naruto stared into the eyes of his brother, entrapping himself in the genjutsu that came with the newly formed Mangekyo Sharingan, Tsukyomi. Ensnared in a strange world with a red moon over looking the most desolate landscape Naruto had ever imagined he found himself tied to a chair.

"Waaah? What is this? Itachi?Why were Oji and Oba-san dead? Who killed them?" The boy cried out, too filled with sadness at the sight to really question his new situation.

"I'm here Naruto," Itachi said materialising before the boy, "I killed them, I killed the entire clan, Naruto, do you understand? I have killed one of the village's founding clans. Sasuke still lives, though I have damaged her and left her with some advice I hope she hates me enough not to follow."

"But… But why Itachi-nii? Why would you do this? and what about me? Am I your next target? Are you really just like the rest of the village?" Naruto frowned unable to really align that thought, that his brother who had always watched over him could be just like if not worse than the villagers who beat him nearly daily.

"No, Naruto you are not next, I could never kill my siblings, I could never kill the two most innocent people I know" Itachi tried futilely to reassure the young boy. "I can't tell you why I did this, it is too big a secret for you to know about, just know there is a good reason for this. The best reason there could be for my crimes tonight."

"Okay. So if you aren't going to kill me what are you going to do with me?"

"I need to be sure of a few things." After a minute spent gathering his thoughts from the blood haze he had forced himself into to help numb himself to the slaughter had just conducted. "Remember that day when I sat with you while you practised calligraphy?"

"Yeah, sure. You asked me why I act like I do."

"Yeah and you told me you want to protect everything you can, your precious people and their precious people?"

"Uh-huh."

"I told Sasuke the only way for her to beat me was to hate me more, to desire power to sate her hunger for revenge and power. That was the worst lie I will ever tell. True strength, and power comes to those with a dream like yours Naruto, to protect. The strength you will need for your dream will not come from desire but necessity."

"Why are you telling me this Itachi-nii? Why are you acting like a good guy after doing this? Why are you acting like my brother and not the murderer of his clan?"

"Because Naruto events have conspired against us, you and me, I will have to leave now for what I've done. Abandon everything I had here, I may as well have died with the clan, but I need you to do something for me. Protect Sasuke, for me, from me, from others who may try to wipe out the last loyal Uchiha and, this is especially important, from herself. You must promise me this Naruto, you are the only one who can, because you know already the pain she will come to face." Itachi said imploring the boy he had trapped, ready to force his request on the boy should he refuse. If he hadn't robbed himself of his emotions before starting the entire ordeal he may well have broken at the sight of his mistreated brother trying to reconcile what he knew of the teen and his actions this night.

"I promise. I'll protect her. I won't let her succumb to the darkness, even if I have to give up everything, dive into the darkness myself and hold her up out of it while I myself drown. I won't back down on this promise. Or any other. This will be my way. This is my choice in life. To fulfill my promises, no matter the personal cost. Because seeing others happiness will always save me. I know this."

Tears welling up in his eyes more like Kakashi's had earlier at the mention of the gold haired youth before him, Itachi struggled not to cry out and lament the life that the boy was choosing for himself. "God Naruto, you truly are amazing. I can see it in you, you could be the best man I will ever meet. Please don't let the villagers hurt your heart, don't let them break you like they broke our family. Rise above them like I know you can, their pain and hatred blinds them, become their guide Naruto, lead them to salvation and a better tomorrow."

With his emotional blockade nearly torn to shreds Itachi reached out to the boy who squirmed against his imaginary bindings, fear and sadness brimming in his eyes at the hand that approached him. With a swift movement he knocked the boy out, hopefully for a while, longer than Sasuke if he'd done it right considering his exceptional healing.

Returning to the Hokage tower with speed comparable to that of even Maito Guy, Itachi steeled himself to hear the Hokage's congratulation on his job 'well done.' Only it never came, instead it was revealed that he had been deceived, being given false orders while the Hokage had been out of his office. Knowing that he had few options left to him he begged for Sasuke's protection from the machinations of whoever had tricked him, and for Naruto to seperated from his foster sister and for Hiruzen have a hand in his further upbringing, in exchange Itachi vowed to become a spy for Jiraiya, helping the sage's network of spies from inside anything he could. Seeing the young prodigy desperately seeking something, grasping at straw, searching for anything to give his life meaning after the acts he had been duped into carrying out Hiruzen agreed. As the young man left quickly hoping to escape the village before people learned the truth Hiruzen turned to stare at the stone monument showing his deceased colleagues and once again cursed himself for being unable to help as they might have.


	4. The Bright Light of Dawn

**Okay look: Chapter four is a bust... The plan was to cover the next five years of Naruto's life quickly whilst setting out his emotional turmoil as he is thrust into a new form of hell, where he is pretty much alone. I will keep trying at it but I'm moving on, if I complete it I'll sort out the chapters best I can.**

Chapter Five: The Bright Light of Dawn

"Naruto! What the fuck are you doing! Why would you steal that!" Iruka shouted upon finding the young blonde he'd failed six hours ago. "This is one of the worst crimes in you could have committed! If anyone else had found you, you'd be dead by now!"

"What? No! What!? But Mizuki-sensei said it was a retest! He said everyone already knew... So I shouldn't... Oh kami! No! What have I done!" Naruto began to panic, instantly understanding the severity of his crime, tears began to fill his eyes he looked to Iruka hoping to see something other than the sternness he usually saw, he needed to see something he could trust in, especially after Mizuki's betrayal, so when he saw softness in the instructor's eyes he grew wary. "I promise I'd never do this sort of thing unless if I'd thought it wasn't a test, honest. I'm not the demon everyone claims I am."

"Oh but you are Naruto. You just don't know about it. Its the same reason why everyone attacks you, why your dead family hated you, it's even the reason why Iruka refused to pass you. Because you are a demon." Mizuki called as he revealed himself, sitting leisurely on a branch high above the two. "They all hate you Naruto. For what you did to them they'll always hate you. You remember the history lessons? The reason why we have four hokages on the mountain but the third is in power?"

"What's the Kyuubi no Kitsune got to do with me?"

"Everything and its simple really, Baka. You are the Kyuubi. " Mizuki laughed at the dumbfounded look upon Naruto's face. "That's right Naruto, you have as much Konoha blood on your hands as the entire opposing forces in the third great ninja war. But not me, no I don't hate you, I see great potential, come with me, bring the scroll with you, we can go to a great man, a man who can make you stronger than everyone in this village, you can have revenge. How does that sound? Making every one of those villagers who hurt you suffer in the knowledge that they caused the pain you could rain down upon them!"

"Take your shitty offer and blow it out your ass Teme. I have a promise to keep. I ain't gonna do that by letting them get to me and I especially ain't gonna do it by leaving here. I'll make them see me, not the demon, and to start I'll make sure you see justice." Getting into a haphazard fighting stance Naruto prepared to launch himself at Mizuki when he was held back by Iruka.

"No. Naruto, this isn't your fight, no matter how much it looks like it. This is mine, he may have revealed the truth about you, but he definitely lied about me. I never hated you kid, nor could I ever. Believe that, if nothing else." Jumping to the branch Mizuki relaxed on easily from his standing start Iruka whipped out three kunai sending them straight at the traitor. Two of the kunia were slightly ahead of the last and spaced enough to catch Mizuki's shoulders and lodge them against the tree, while the third would have caught him straight in the chest had he not substituted himself with a log. Appearing above the senior instructor he delivered an ax kick to the man's head sending him crashing back to the forest floor. Slightly dazed he barely managed to catch the fist that then flew out at him.

"Naruto get away from here, quickly, and stay hidden from everyone, i'll find you, then we'll sort this out." Iruka grunted before entering a blindingly quick brawl with Mizuki. The pair were throwing and blocking various attacks, constantly trying to gain the upper hand.

While they clashed Naruto turned and ran, but with no intention of hiding, to the next clearing he could find. Iruka had tried to protect him, Iruka - the guy who seemed to have a hard on for making Naruto feel like shit - had claimed to never hate him and fought for his sake. As he set up his plan Naruto began to realise just why Iruka had seemed worse than the rest, he didn't hate the fox instead he was disappointed in the boy. Digging a hole in the ground he took two stones, both of which he transformed into replicas of the forbidden scroll of sealing before burying one with the real scroll on top, also transformed to look like a rock, and placing the second fake against a tree.

Iruka had done well so far in holding his own against Mizuki but he knew he was in trouble, Mizuki wasn't just your average small-fry looking to make it big, he had some talent and knew how to use it to beat Iruka's jack-of-all-trades style. The chunin was out of breath when Naruto reappeared shouting;

"Don't worry Iruka-sensei, I gots your back. Believe it!" Clearly the boy hadn't been paying attention before charging in. If he had he would have realized Mizuki was right behind him and was holding the last of his oversized shuriken he'd had strapped to his back in his hand taking aim. Grunting through the screams of his muscles, that hadn't seen such strenuous use in far too long, he dived at the boy, pushing him down before the shuriken could hit him. He then yelled out in pain as the shuriken lodged itself in his own back instead.

"Heh. Useless as usual Umino. Couldn't even let the kid die without you. Well best be off gotta get that scroll out the country quickly." Came Mizuki's mocking voice not bothering to check the bodies as he transformed himself to look like Iruka. If he had he would have noticed that Iruka was alone.

"Crazy Naruto. Just don't die. I'll come get you just as soon as I can."

Mizuki wasn't surprised when he found Naruto sitting in the next clearing looking bored with the scroll next to him.

'Dumb shit didn't even think to hide himself' Mikuki thought to himself before calling out in Iruka's voice;

"Hey Naruto, Mizuki's gone. I dealt with him no bother, guy could barely take a punch. Let's head back ehh?" As he said this he approached the boy who still sat in the middle of the clearing looking off into the distance as though he was trying to figure out a riddle. About twenty feet from the boy Mizuki's foot got caught in a small pit that hadn't been there when he began his approach. At this Naruto was brought from his reverie to focus on Iruka.

"I've got a few things to say Iruka-sensei," Naruto said emphasising the name of the man in front of him, "First of all thanks for believing in me, secondly sorry for not listening to your instructions." Slowly getting up from his rock Naruto drew a kunai from his pouch before continuing; "Thirdly that's the first time ever I managed to get you with one of my pranks, of any scale, and finally Mizuki-Teme. This is for you. Nobody hurts my precious people and gets away with it and by Kami you had better Believe It!" His voice rising to a roar as he launched himself at the man snarling and began hitting the man wildly, making him drop his henge. If Mizuki had been any lesser opponent this tactic would have thrown him off guard, instead he took it in stride and casually held of the boy's brawler fighting methods.

Quickly growing tired of all the effort he had had to go through just to get his hands on the prize that was just about in his grasp Mizuki knocked the boy down easily. Straddling the boy now he pulled out a kunai, placing it at his neck he leant down and whispered in the boy's ear:

"They should give me an award for the service I'm about to do them. Too bad they're so weak or I wouldn't want to leave. Well, brat, any last words?"

"Sure I do Mizuki-Teme. Go to hell. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He said as hundreds of clones appeared around them. Looking up in a confusion of the rapid growth the boy had shown in just a few hours Mizuki was caught unable to defend himself as the Clones launched themselves at the traitor, viciously ripping into him. By the time Iruka had healed himself and arrived Mizuki was barely more than a lump in the ground.

Nearly two hours later both Iruka and Naruto stood before the Hokage back in his office with the scroll being returned to it's hiding place by anbu guards who were also in charge of increasing the security surrounding the scroll.

"So what you are telling me is that a man we'd trusted enough to put in a leadership role of our up and coming classes of genin attempted to betray the village? In order to do that he utilized Naruto's naivety, dislike of most adults and surprising stealth skills in order to steal what is meant to be one of our most highly guarded scrolls. He then revealed an S class secret that was meant to be never told to the younger generations, in doing so overplaying his hand and allowing Naruto, who he had written off as useless, to take the man down by using a forbidden jutsu?" The old man asked tiredly. He examined the two faces in front of him, the younger one showed a hint of pride underneath overall fear as he replied in the affirmative while the elder merely held his face straight. "Well then... Naruto. You understand that you committed a grave offence today? Stealing that scroll should have a penalty of spending a long time with Ibiki, let alone learning one of the forbidden jutsu from within it. However, you do gain some leniency in that you were being tricked and that you brought the true criminal to justice as such you shall be cleared of most charges. The problem then remains that since you failed the exam today, you aren't a ninja and as such I cannot free you of all charges, which knowing the council's opinion of you will almost definitely end with you spending your days in chains." Seeing the boy's fall from the joy he himself had risen it to nearly made the old hokage's heart rip in two, while the chunin beside him merely steeled himself at the prospect before voicing an idea.

"Sir, it came to my attention that today during Naruto's exam he had been given a question paper that had a genjutsu on it to make the questions appear to him as being the correct ones while to others it appeared as different questions. Upon rechecking his results he managed to score sufficiently to pass and today he has clearly displayed to me a capability of substituting himself using a jutsu, transforming both himself and other objects and even producing multiple clones that not only copied him perfectly but were used effectively in combat, as such I would like to put forward that my previous decision not to pass the boy be revised so that he may." As Iruka spoke he slowly broke into a grin as he noticed Naruto slowly being dragged out of the depression of the jail time he would likely face to full on ecstasy as that prospect was sent flying from all thought, his smile seeming to outshine the strip lights that lined the ceiling and the moon that shone in through the windows. Smiling at the easy way of sidestepping all difficulties that faced the old man's favourite orphan Hiruzen nodded his head as he pulled out a headband from his desk that hadn't been used in nearly thirteen years and slid it towards the boy.

"Very well Iruka. If you believe the boy has earned the position of genin of the leaf then I shall allow it. Naruto you are hereby cleared of all charges."

"Yatta! I get to be a ninja! Thank you so much Iruka-sensei and Ojii-san, you guys are the best!" Naruto cried as he snatched up the leaf headband and started attaching it to his head while also trying to hug the two men.

"Now Naruto there are some important matters I need to talk to you about, namely the S-class secret you learned tonight." Saurtobi sighed, "I had at least a hundred different ways I wanted you to learn about your status, this was in none of them. I had planned to tell you once you became a gennin, believe me."

Naruto looked up at the old man, eyes filled with pain and betrayal and longing for the possibility that he wasn't the monster people claimed he was. " So it's true then. I'm a monster. I killed all those people. The villagers were right, maybe I should just..." Before he could continue Hiruzen was by the boy's side holding him in a bear hug, tears streaming from his eyes at the pain the boy was feeling, at the knowledge that for all intents and purposes he had failed the boy.

"Shush now Naruto. No. Don't you ever think like that, you hear me? You are not the Kyuubi, you understand? You are not a killer. You are a prisoner of circumstance, okay? The beast may be inside you but that doesn't mean you are it. You should be considered a hero for holding the Kyuubi inside you, you shouldn't be treated like you are by the village. Remember though, the people who really like you won't ever see the Kyuubi, because that's not you, understand?" He waited for the boy to nod from inside the tear filled hug before continuing, "You are a prison and a jailer to one of the most dangerous beings in the world and people fear you for that. People will refuse to see you, but that doesn't mean you should give up, talk to them, learn about them and they will learn about you. You can be strong, you can be what you want, just never let yourself believe that you are what the villagers see yourself as. You Naruto Uzumaki are capable of being one of the brightest and best your generation will produce. Be strong Naruto, or else you won't be able to live out your dream"

Smiling weakly at the old man Naruto felt relieved to hear such positive things after the awful thoughts Mizuki's word had brought up in him.

"So I can't tell me team about this?"

"Hmm... I wouldn't just yet personally, you don't know how they might react, but I don't see why you shouldn't be able to tell people."

"I'm not sure that's the kind of secret that should be kept, who knows what kind of danger or could lead to. Reaction be damned if they don't like it they can go stuff themselves. It will just be one more person I have to prove myself too." Naruto said slamming his fist into his open palm before frowning again. "Actually now that I think about it will I get on a team since I didn't graduate with the others?"

The change in conversation caused the old man to laugh saying; "Don't worry by the oddest coincidence the number of passing students was only twenty six so we were missing a cell-member as it was."

Happy at the news Naruto thanked the old man once more before running off saying something about needing to eat.

**So there you have it folks... A chapter after about a month and it's not the total garbage that chapter four is looking like for me... He he**


	5. Clouds on the First Fine Day

Chapter 6: Clouds on the First Fine Day

"Now class, before I announce teams there are some things you should know about the teams that have been picked this year, the majority of the teams are unspecialised so far and your sensei's will determine what you become but we have one tracker team, one complimentary-technique legacy team, and a leadership/assault team pre picked for now." Iruka called out to the class, looking proudly out at the graduating class in front of him. He scowled slightly to see Naruto off to one side of the classroom probably due to whatever nonsense was going on before he came in the room. Clearly the room wasn't listening to what he was saying so he quickly moved onto listing the teams before he came to see a grouping that made him smile.

"Now that the non specialised teams are known I'll start on the specialised teams, firstly team seven, the assault team, will consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha." He had to force himself not to laugh when he heard the combination of laughs and groans that each team member made as the announcement was made so instead he focused on frowning wondering not for the first time why the Uchihas had given their daughter a male name. "Team eight will be a tracking team of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuuga. Team nine is still active from last year, for those of you that remember them that's Rock Lee and Neji Hyuuga's team. And finally we have team ten our very own legacy team, creating another Ino-shika-cho combination. Again guys congratulations are in order, you're heading out into the real world now, you are military now. Which I guess might not be worth praising but I will anyway. Best of luck to you all." He then quickly moved to the door to let the job in instructors in before departing leaving one final instruction to them all. "Stay here until your instructor arrives."

Watching Iruka walk out of the classroom Sasuke Uchiha felt very little of the trepidation that filled the hearts of her peers. Instead her thoughts were filled with anger and disappointment, firstly at herself for only graduating from the academy at the time her brother was a member of ANBU knowing that at her current rate of growth the revenge she longed for would be long out of reach, secondly at the awful team she had been placed in, with them around her progress would be hindered even more and thirdly she was angry just due to Naruto's presence. The stupid wretch had been in her shadow for as long as she could remember and she didn't like it, no matter how much better she was he would stumble his way into the same points, she had seriously thought she'd gained freedom when she'd heard he'd failed the exam previously. But now she found that he'd once again gotten away with whatever stupid scheme he had cooked up and graduated with her. How could that dead last worthless stain of a human being manage to keep up with her? It was beyond infuriating, especially now that they would have to spend time together again. They had barely talked to each other since the... _Incident,_ she refused to refer to it as it was, as they had been separated, praise the lord, with the council saying something about a demon menace and keeping the last Uchiha loyal to the village.

She watched casually as the jonin present called out for their team, recognising the Sandaime's son Asuma gather Ino, a blonde girl almost as bad as Naruto apart from her clan upbringing, Shikamaru, a lazy asshole who intentionally scrapes through all tests, and Chouji, the only person in their class who could match Naruto's stomach and had the jelly rolls to prove it. Eventually the entire room was clear except for her, Naruto and Sakura, who was looking dreamily at Sasuke, which unnerved the Uchiha to no end, it was possible that either the pink haired girl swung that way or just hadn't realized that Sasuke wasn't a boy despite her name.

Hours passed in this manner with Sasuke sitting perfectly still, revelling in hate for her entire situation, Sakura fawning silently over being so close to Sasuke and Naruto, becoming less and less capable of staying still as time went on, started to move about pacing throughout the room and sometimes trying to start idiotic idle conversation with the pair, Sasuke merely refused to speak to the orange midget while Sakura felt the need to scream at the boy and constantly hit him for his actions.

By the time four o'clock came round their jounin instructor still hadn't shown up and Sasuke was just about to leave much like Naruto had an hour ago when the door opened. Only to reveal the blonde idiot again as he began setting up some stupid prank that seemed to involve a wire at ankle height, a bucket of oil and a tarpaulin sheet stretching to the wall. By the time he was finished, cackling like a raving lunatic the entire time, and gotten to an innocuous seat halfway up the room he barely had time to contain himself when the door opened to reveal their new sensei who had, unbelievably fallen for the fool's prank and tripped on the wire leading to him being doused in oil as he was sent along the tarpaulin into the wall. Small bits of confetti fell from the roof at the impact and a sign unfurled with the kanji for 'that's for being late!' Written on it. For all her hatred of the dobe Sasuke actually nearly laughed at the complete fool the boy had made their instructor look until the still prone body disappeared in a cloud of smoke to reveal a log.

"Ahem. Next time you try to lay a trap, don't giggle like a loon the entire time." Looking up the man was squatting idly in the window looking in at the children. "Great, I hate this team already. Roof in five minutes. Tardy and I introduce you to Ibiki."

Looking at each other the group appeared just as shocked as one another at how the man had so casually acted after appearing over five hours late. Gathering their wits the trio hastily made their ways up the building,only to find the man leaning against a rail reading a little orange book.

"eheheheheh... Oh! Yo, you made pretty good time. Take a seat. I'm Kakashi, I'll be your instructor for the foreseeable future. Let's start by introducing ourselves eh? Pinky, you go first." The man said leisurely, barely looking up from his book as the group took a seat on the low wall across from him.

"Uhhh... Well I don't know how to start this sensei. Why don't you go first to show us how it's done?"

"Fine I guess, no skin off my back. Let's see My name is Hatake Kakashi, I like things, I also dislike things, I have a secret, I don't feel like sharing my dream nor my hobbies. Now you go... Maybe a bit more information."

Despite being slightly put off by Kakashi's less than informative introduction Sakura started.

"Um.. Okay then, my name is Haruno Sakura, I like strong kunoichi, Sasuke-chan and the latest fashions, I dislike a certain orange clad idiot. I'd rather not share my secret as it's silly at best. I dream of being worthy of Sasuke-chan's praise and my hobbies are shopping, and trying to get on Sasuke's good side."

Kakashi was mildly disheartened to hear that the girl was such an airhead, especially for one considered smartest in her class, "They just don't make them the same these days" he thought before saying, "nice and informative, thank you Sakura, how about you Other-Girl?"

"How dare you call me that, I am Sasuke Uchiha, I like tomatoes and training, I despise two things; a certain man and the loser sitting next to me. My dream is to defeat that certain man. My secret is that I am not sure I ever will complete my dream and my only hobby is training."

The silver haired jounin wasn't surprised by the girl's response having received the report the council sent when they demanded he focused on her training; 'she might be worse than anyone knew... Fuck.' Was all that came to his mind, "Okay and the Orange Monstrosity Midget?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja, I like Ramen and people who don't treat me like shit for things that were beyond my control. I dislike the stuck up mesu beside me and the villagers who attack me almost every day. My dream is be strong enough to protect my precious people and their precious people. I don't really have the opportunities to do hobbies but I like to practice calligraphy when I get the chance because aniki said I could find it useful in the future... ack" he was interrupted by Sasuke jumping on top of him yelling:

"You don't get to call him brother! You were never a part of our family! You hear me loser!" Kakashi quickly dragged the girl of Naruto explaining to the confused Sakura,

"Naruto used to live with the Uchihas before the..." He quickly looked down at the still fuming Sasuke." Incident. Now is there anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself Naruto?"

"I do have a secret... But I'm still not sure if I should tell you guys... Sensei you know it right? Should I tell them?" the boy shuffled nervously

"Oh yeah, I know, you might as well tell them now, better to hear it from you than some other source." The masked jonin said jovially, "The villagers are idiots anyway, if they were right why would the village still be standing hmm?" This peaked Sasuke's interest and seemed to quieten her down. The dobe had a secret that most people knew about? Their sensei knew about it?

"What are you two talking about dobe?" Sasuke asked gruffly.

"Ha... You guys know the story about the Kyuubi right?" Hardly waiting for their nods he continued, "Well it turns out you can't actually kill a being of pure chakra, so instead the Yondaime in his dying moments sealed the beast inside a newborn child. That was me."

"What. The. Fuck." The group turned to look in sheer surprise at the only person who'd stayed silent during Naruto's introduction, Sakura. "So you mean to tell me that you have a demon inside you, killed the Yondaime and not satisfied with your work so far drove Itachi mad and made him massacre his own clan? No wonder the villagers treat you like they do... You're a monster!"

Too late Kakashi reached the pink haired girl to take her away, calling out behind him, "Dismissed, meet at training ground seven at six hundred hours." Sasuke turned to look at the boys reaction from her stalkers words to find the him without his usual 'bright as a spark' smile to have been momentarily replaced with a look of pain and sadness that looked unnatural on his face before he'd noticed her looking at him and brought back up his mask.

"Well, that was... unpleasant. But now you know why I was living with the Uchiha." Naruto said turning towards her, his smile wilting slightly as it struggled to stay put. "What? Don't consider me even worth talking to now? Afraid I'll corrupt you with my 'Demon's Presence?' Come on, throw another stone. I've faced worse."

"Oh shut up you fucking melodramatic idiot" Naruto looked at the girl in surprise. " unlike The Great Pink Stalker I don't blame you for that... That was all on him. And clearly she isn't the 'smartest kunoichi in our year' as people claim, especially not if she can't tell the difference between a prison and a prisoner. Hell all you've done is explain a lot of stuff I wasn't interested in anyway. Just... Don't get in my way, yeah?"

"Hn" With that the girl leapt away across the buildings leaving the boy to his thoughts. Unsure of what to do now the blonde decided to head home, smiling as he did so at Kakashi's assessment of his situation, clearly the man wasn't interested, which by extension meant he had at least earned his place on the short but ever increasing list of people Naruto would definitely fight to protect.

Three hours late Kakashi turned up to the training ground to find a situation somewhat similar to the one he'd found the day prior only Naruto appeared to have been beaten up and bound to a tree this time and Sakura was noticeably sitting as far away from as she could while still fawning over the smug looking Sasuke. Sighing inwardly he decided to have some fun,

"Yo, my cute genin, sorry about how late I am you see a green beast decided it wanted to have a competition with me just after I'd left the house and it then made me help out in some of its ... Penalties" Kakashi said warmly before shivering on the final word. Before letting them make any complaints he continued, "Now then we're going to finish off your examination, you've proven your capability to be ninja, now let's see if you deserve to be one. I have in my possession two bells, you must take them off me by noon, whoever doesn't get a bell gets sent back to the academy."

Setting down a clock on one of the wooden poles present in all the training grounds Kakashi set the alarm before turning and saying,

"Now come at me with the intent to kill, you'll need it if you even want a reaction out of me. Begin!" As he shouted two of the trio tossed smoke pellets to cover their escape while the last one sat still looking slightly confused.

"Not going to try and hide to think up a plan Naruto? You can't honestly believe I'm on the same level as Mizuki do you?"

Struggling to his feet Naruto replied "No, no nothing like that. It's just... You said a lot of stuff just then that didn't really see to sit right with me about this test, so I figured I'd let the smart pair figure out whatever it is while I act as a distraction and hope that you might be able to tell what I need to really train in," before silently continuing to himself "the most." While Kakashi stood staring nearly dumbfounded at the boy, for being so incredibly close to the test's true meaning, Naruto charged at him making the clone seal with his hands and dispelling his chakra across the newly formed twenty or so shadow clones. Which proceeded to to charge at the cyclops in order to begin what was supposed to be an all out brawl. This would have been the case had the Narutos just been fighting amongst themselves rather than aimed at the silver haired man, the lack of space to actually attack him as they tried to gather around him, when due to infighting the numbers had thinned down to about eight. Sweat dropping slightly at the comical display Kakashi reached down to one of numerous pouches he kept strapped to his legs and in an intentionally provocative manner he pulled out the copy of his favourite novel: Icha Icha Paradise and started giggling to himself, only to stop as the remaining and now _organised_ clones leapt in to attack.

Now with attacks coming at you from eight sides even with a broken mix of attacks so widely telegraphed you would literally have to be the drunkest man at a bar room brawl not to see and sloppily executed basic taijutsu forms, it should be impossible to dodge effectively and keep your concentration on a single fixed point, and yet Kakashi seemed to be able to do just that, even worse he was using the tiniest of movements seeming to know exactly where in his body the clones would theoretically hit at all times and was able to move out the way. The flurry of failed attacks continued until Kakashi grew bored of the activity and decides to remove Naruto from the equation. Ducking under another horribly telegraphed attack Kakashi whipped his book wielding hand up through one of the clones chins as he bounced back up, this caused the clone to be sent flying into the trees, where Kakashi presumed it dispelled before he turned to the next clone, who would have charged at the man had it not been met by a foot that had whipped round with it's owner, before they could react to these new movements two others found themselves with kunai sticking from their throats before also disappearing in a puff of smoke. Pausing to survey the field and despair slightly at the boy's poor training again, he found that the four remaining Naruto had formed up on each other in a diamond formation, not wanting to waste anymore time he launched three shuriken and disappeared. While the shuriken flew true and caught their shadow clones leaving Kakashi to appear crouched behind the real one, intending to use one of his sensei's lesser known and less deadly techniques, one which him and his teammates had fallen for on multiple occasions,

"Leaf Village Hidden Secret Finger Juts-"

Now had Kakashi been paying full attention as he removed the clones from combat he would have noticed that the clone he sent flying never actually dispelled. This is important because he might have been able to prevent the surprisingly potent kick that Naruto whirled round with aiming for the man's kidney that forced Kakashi to cancel his planned embarrassment of the boy to defend. This was caused by the clone seeing Kakashi appear behind its creator and in a show of instinctual self awareness caused itself to dispel, triggering Naruto's instinctual reaction. Recognising the small advantage he now had Naruto pressed the attack now finally able to score some blows against his tall instructor. They continued to fight like this for some time, Naruto constantly launching barrages of clones, while Kakashi would avoid these blows before systematically destroying the clones and then responding by attempting to prank his young charge. However time wore on and the Jonin's endurance began to wain, deciding that he needed to check on his other two charges Kakashi took the next opportunity presented to him and knocked the orange clad boy out cold before tying him to one of the posts that stood to the back of the training ground.

Taking a deeper breath than he had expected to need Kakashi looked around the clearing slowly tracing the area out with what little chakra sensing abilities he'd managed to copy over the years. Noting where the two girls' chakra signatures were he turned back to Naruto and considered him for a moment, 'hmm, clearly life hasn't been good to him. I still wish I'd had the opportunity to spend some time with him before this. He's strong though, that's for certain, I doubt I could make that many shadow clones, especially not if I wanted to retain as much stamina as he does. I think I might need to restart Gai's workout programme.'

Sasuke had, having found a suitable hiding place, watched the battle between the new instructor and the insufferably impressive done. While it had been clear that for most of their battle Kakashi had been messing with the boy, he'd never seemed to take the exercise seriously either, intent only on showing his abilities to the man and never once reaching for the bells that had on a few occasions come close to his grasp. When Kakashi had suddenly disappeared from the clearing after staring at Naruto for an unnaturally long time, the black haired girl was relieved to hear the shrill shriek of her other teammate before realising, with no small amount of fear, that obviously he was coming for her next. Moving from her selected spot quickly the girl headed to the patch of clearing just behind the logs that Naruto's body was slumped against, all the while calmly throwing out kunai with wire attached to them and various tags or bombs ready to go off when the wires lost their tautness. Eventually she'd set herself up a well defended position from which she could could strike as necessary and take on the Cyclops when one of her tags went off.

Catching himself before he sighed again Kakashi shook his head before he walked away from Sakura who was now rolling on the floor blubbering over the genjutsu she'd been placed under. 'Well that was disappointingly easy, I thought she was the next top kunoichi for their year?' He asked himself before heading towards Sasuke. When he found the intricate pattern of wires blocking his path Kakashi merely smirked before launching multiple kunai into the trees, angled to bounce and given the necessary chakra to force them to travel further than the simple throw would allow, the blades split the wires at multiple points before Kakashi launched himself through the explosions that followed to enter the clearing that had been prepared by his final student.

Despite the surprise caused by her trip wires being set off in multiple locations simultaneously Sasuke was able to launch herself from her hiding place to face off against the jonin. The moment she landed she inhaled deeply as she made the necessary motions for the great fireball jutsu, releasing the searing heat from her lungs she forced the man onto the defensive as she launched into the Uchiha's signature taijutsu style. She was incredibly pleased to find herself faring much better than Naruto had and was actually pushing the jonin into needing to fighting back and paying the utmost care to what he was doing. In fact the short haired girl* was so euphoric over being once again proven to be better than her, as much as she might deny it, rival that she failed to notice the clear signs of exhaustion that Kakashi exerted just fighting her after taking on the overly energetic Naruto for too long. Finally, as Sasuke drew agonisingly close to grabbing the bells the clock Kakashi had placed earlier chimed signalling that time was up for the young ninjas.

Leaping backwards before Sasuke could continue her attack Kakashi said,

"Well nice try, go sit down near Naruto and try to wake him up, I'll fetch Sakura then give you your results"

When he had returned to the stumps he found that Naruto was still not awake Kakashi laid down Sakura and used a water jutsu to wake the pair of them up.

"Huuuuhhh, well team, that was awful. In all honesty to say you fail is putting it lightly, if I had my way, nine of you would ever become ninja. Sakura, it literally took me a minute to deal with you and fifty seconds of that was finding you. Sasuke, you showed good form and technique but you didn't use your brains properly to figure out what this test was all about. And you Naruto, well you are sub-par in everything but your stamina, even if you came the closest to figuring this test out, you didn't even try to communicate with the others, let them know what you were doing or thinking. You may have had the right idea but you essentially abandoned them. This test was all about teamwork, an extremely essential skill in all ninja, now hear this; Those who abandoned the mission are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are less than trash. Here Sakura and Sasuke, you get a meal, if I find out you've shared it with Naruto then all three of you fail, not just one of you at my discretion." He said disappearing in a flurry of leaves.

"What did he mean you came closest to figuring it out, Kitsune-Baka?" Sakura said turning slightly towards Naruto whilst unsurreptitiously backing away, clearly not over the prejudices she'd had ingrained in her about the nine tails from a young age.

"Well I thought there was something weird about what he'd told us but I'm not smart enough to figure it out by myself and let's be honest you two would hardly listen to me anyway. So I decided to not go along with it and just act as a distraction for him while I figured you guys would figure out what I couldn't and use my distraction to your advantage in some way." Naruto said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ugh, of course, it's so stupid, no wonder we didn't catch onto it." Sasuke groaned as she turned to look at Sakura, "How often have you ever heard of genins operating in teams of two? Never right? This was meant to turn us against each other and see if we could overcome it and act as a team, huu-uh." The Uchiha sighed outwardly as she explained the whole thing to them.

"And Naruto figured this out almost immediately but didn't tell us? Goddammit Naruto if you've cost me a chance to become a ninja I swear to the sages..." She said as she leapt towards the tied up jinchuuriki only to be knocked back by Sasuke. Before she could ask why she was cut off by Sasuke squatting down and opening her lunch to share some with the boy.

Without turning her head Sasuke said, "Jeez Sakura lay off him a bit ehh? No he didn't figure it out, he barely caught onto a trick and couldn't do much else, so he put his faith in us to do better than him. Here Naruto eat up, if we get another shot at this you are going to need your stamina, you held him up for most of that session after all. For gods sake Sakura don't just sit there looking like I'm crazy going near him, he's too stupid to truck someone into doing anything evil." When Sakura finally closed her mouth and sat up slightly also offering some of her lunch to the orange clad kid she looked away abashed for a moment before finally saying,

"Okay so if this is a teamwork exercise clearly we all have some trust issues with each other; I, for no good reason, don't trust Naruto to not be the demon everyone claims he is, Naruto needs to trust that we'll listen to his input and you Sasuke need to trust that-"

"The pair of you aren't totally useless." Sasuke interrupted, "Sure I can get behind that, we need a plan for next time though."

When Kakashi returned he found the three would be genin huddled together murdering to themselves and Sakura moving towards the tied up jinchuuriki with some of the food from her bento for him to eat

"Ah hah. Insubordination, clearly I was right, you children are nowhere near ready to become ninjas, you might as well go now, I won't stop you." Kakashi said trying to intentionally rile them up

"Well sure under actual circumstances I'd agree, but today you're going to try and claim insubordination? Hah, I, no, We think not, and we'll do anything to make sure we're in peak condition." Came Sakura's impassioned reply.

"Oh? And what is so special about today, you're first day on the job, that is so special that you can disobey direct orders from a superior?"

"Duh, it's because today you're not our sensei, today you're the enemy! Dattebayo!" Naruto shouted

"And now, we have a plan." Sasuke smirked as she ran left arm upwards, splitting the ropes tying Naruto to the log. Who proceeded to remove his ungodly bright jacket and throw it to Sakura with a brief nod before once more pushing himself towards the instructor.

* When imagining Sasuke's hair think of like a messier version of the girl who restarts the dancing in the crowd from the video for Perfect Situation by Weezer

Omake: Where Kakashi went

Maito Gai had just returned from reporting on another gloriously youthful mission with his young charges when his long term eternal rival popped into existence mere meters in front of him and in a stark contrast to his usually cool demeanor nearly collapsed into the green beasts arms.

"Kakashi, are you alright? Talk to me, is there anything I can do?"

With what little strength the silver haired man had left he proceeded to make a series of strange and to the genin with Gai incomprehensible hand signs that Rock Lee would maintain to this day was a secret form of communication only available to those who knew the true passions of youth.

"What? You say that when inflicting your hideously un-youthful bell test on your latest team you were driven to the point of exhaustion because one of your genin decided to forgo any team tactics and in a display of the most burning youth imaginable decided to act as a distractionary sacrifice for the good of his team? And you go on to say that if you, one of Konoha's two most youthful and powerful ninjas are in this kind of state after facing mere genin, that you would be happy to support my requests to the hokage to reintroduce the mandatory stamina training from the third shinobi war for all ninjas ranked chunin and higher?" Came the overly dramatised translation followed by Kakashi giving a thumbs up before sinking into a nearby seat to sleep.

"Come my youthful charges," Gai said casually sweeping the children up into his arms and then over his shoulders, " Let us away to the hokage tower so that we might give Kakashi some room, and so that I might submit my proposal again!"


End file.
